> The problem, or _a_ problem, is that people can only handle so much controversy. They have lives to lead.
You're so spot on. You know how everyone says, "Seinfeld is a show about nothing!" It wasn't about nothing, but what did make it different is that the characters never changed. They didn't have these huge arcs and defining life moments. They just went about their lives and we watched.
People say "it was about nothing!" in shock, as if its incredulous that a show without drama in the characters lives could be so popular.
But that was why it was popular -- because most people's lives, most of the times, are not filled with drama. They just go about their day.
> It wasn't about nothing, but what did make it different is that the characters never changed. They didn't have these huge arcs and defining life moments. They just went about their lives and we watched.
> This is very common to American TV shows both live-action and animated, particularly from The '60s through The '90s in part because programming directors like to have the luxury of repeating episodes in any order, and in part because (prior to the advent of the internet) watching or catching up on a missed episode could be nearly impossible for viewers.
See anything from Gilligan always ruining the rescue attempt to JD always screwing things up with the current romantic interest on Scrubs. There's a long history of shows trying to make baby steps against this (resolving a 'will-they-won't-they' situation, for instance) and the show basically dying as a result. Exceptions like Babylon 5 where major things changed were rare.
Seinfeld was "about nothing" in that the things the reset button applied to were so minor that you basically didn't even notice the reset button most of the time - you wouldn't expect them to majorly change the characters. That, and that it wasn't super-location-centric in the way that Newsradio is "about a radio station" - I mean, it isn't, really, it's about the characters there too, but 99% of the action takes place in the radio station.
Escapism. We like vicariously experiencing drama that is more than we want to personally experience. We love watching violent movies but don't want to experience or commit violence. We love stories with convoluted romantic intrigue and yet most of us just want to settle down with our partner. We love a view into a life we're too scared to live.
Surrogate drama. We like drama, but we don't like it in our own lives. It results in anxiety, uncertainty, and other negative feelings. But when we watch it on TV, we can interact with it like real drama, but it stays at a safe distance from our own lives. e.g. "OMG, did you see what Meredith did last night on Grey's? I can't believe she did that, what was she thinking?" We can partake in the drama, but no matter what she did, it doesn't really have any bearing on us.
> But that was why it was popular -- because most people's lives, most of the times, are not filled with drama.
A lot of the story arcs involved situations that people loved to gossip about. Like the woman who wouldn't wear a bra, or the whole "regifter" episode.
Put another way; Seinfield was about how people react to a breakdown in social conventions, and really small ones at that. The types of things that happen in Seinfield were the types of things you would go home and talk to your spouse about. "Someone at work today was standing really close to me!" "I was driving through an exit ramp and two cars tried to merge into the same space!" etc.
This is such a good way of putting it, and despite having watched every episode two or three times, I had never quite thought of it this way. I think this is best captured by the moment (which I think about all the time) is when George gets so mad at the person hogging the phone at a Chinese restaurant and yells, "you know we're living in a SOCIETY!". After reading your comment, I realize that complaint could be applied to most of the story lines in the show.
You're so spot on. You know how everyone says, "Seinfeld is a show about nothing!" It wasn't about nothing, but what did make it different is that the characters never changed. They didn't have these huge arcs and defining life moments. They just went about their lives and we watched.
People say "it was about nothing!" in shock, as if its incredulous that a show without drama in the characters lives could be so popular.
But that was why it was popular -- because most people's lives, most of the times, are not filled with drama. They just go about their day.
And most people like it that way.